Former El-Rufai aide returns to APC and pledges Kaduna mobilisation
Bashir Sa’idu, a former chief of staff to Nasir El-Rufai, has defected from the African Democratic Congress to the All Progressives Congress and promised to mobilise supporters for Governor Uba Sani ahead of the 2027 elections. He said his network could deliver Zazzau’s 11 local government areas.
Bashir Sa’idu, a former chief of staff to ex-Kaduna governor Nasir El-Rufai, has left the African Democratic Congress and returned to the All Progressives Congress, promising to mobilise supporters for Governor Uba Sani ahead of the 2027 elections. Sa’idu, who also served as Kaduna’s commissioner for finance under El-Rufai, made the pledge when Isa Lawal, the governor’s special adviser on domestic affairs, visited him at his residence. He said the move was not an individual defection and that a large network of supporters had joined him.
He specifically promised to deliver the 11 local government areas that make up the Zazzau Emirate to the APC. Sa’idu said his supporters would demonstrate their political strength at the elections and claimed the party would win more votes in Zaria Local Government Area than former President Muhammadu Buhari secured in previous contests. Sa’idu also cited Lere, where he claimed about 3,091 ADC card-carrying members had joined the APC.
He said his wider political network included groups of roughly 4,000 supporters in some local government areas and estimated that about 10,000 people had moved with him. He said the network extended beyond Zaria to Igabi and Kaduna South. Sa’idu acknowledged that his mobilisation would not prevent the state government from conducting its own political planning, adding that his group could work with the government’s structure or operate independently before meeting it at the polls.
The move is significant because of Sa’idu’s long association with El-Rufai. The two attended Barewa College, Zaria, and Sa’idu held senior positions during El-Rufai’s eight-year administration. He was among associates who previously followed the former governor from the APC to the ADC.
The return comes amid tensions within the ADC after its May governorship primary. Former House of Representatives member Isah Ashiru won with 86,113 votes, while former commissioner Jafaru Sani received 29,580. Sani rejected the result, alleging irregularities.
Sa’idu’s challenge will now be to convert his claimed support base into votes for the APC.
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